Books: The Rackateer, by John Grisham

The Racketeer, by John Grisham (Random House, 343 pages, $32 hardcover) — About halfway through this book, the 27th novel by U.S. author John Grisham, a reader may wonder where the plot is going.

It takes off in a direction that appears wholly disconnected to the main story and this continues for many pages. Interesting, but what happened to the principal focus, one may ask.

However, it’s worth continuing to the end to find what transpires. Grisham brings everything to a surprising conclusion.

The main character, Malcolm Bannister, is a former small town lawyer serving a 10-year prison sentence in Maryland after being unwittingly caught in a racketeering scheme.

Looking for freedom after serving five years, he offers the FBI information about an inmate who escaped from the prison, a man he says is guilty of killing a federal judge.

Since the police investigation of the judge’s death is going nowhere, Bannister’s information is considered worthwhile and a deal is concocted to cancel the balance of his sentence.

Bannister walks and is given a new identity. He then sets about — assisted by the sizeable reward money he has received — to concoct an elaborate scheme that will help him avoid retaliation from relatives and associates of the escaped inmate he fingered.

This is a fast-moving and highly-entertaining yarn, written in a style that will be familiar to Grisham’s many fans.